In the wake of success for The Hunger Games, it seems that dystopian has been the “It” genre for young adult (and some adult, too) literature. The genre has been feeling so oversaturated lately, that many of the books feel mediocre.

That’s not so with Partials by Dan Wells, the first in a new series and in stores today. Partials is an action-packed, science fiction adventure of the highest degree — and while it does bear some of the earmarks of dystopian fiction, it is not another cookie-cutter story.

Partialsstarts off with an interesting premise, and a chilling faux quote that sets the mood for the rest of the novel to come. Wells layers in science and science fiction to create a top notch and fully-realized futuristic world. At times, the world-building or scientific explanations can bog down the pacing, created passages of slow or stilted progress. But the ultimate result is a stable foundation for the events of the novel.

Partials is populated with appealing and engaging characters — including Kira, a gutsy, albeit flawed heroine who fans of The Hunger Games‘s Katniss will want to root for. Her likability helps temper the disconnect readers may feel towards Samm, a Partial who teams up with Kira in the latter half of the book. While his character is meant to be less than human, his inhuman qualities make it difficult sometimes for readers to connect with him emotionally. There’s potential, however, for Samm to grow into a fan favorite in subsequent books in this series.

While fans of The Hunger Games wait until the movie’s March 23rd release date, Partials offers an exciting and engaging distraction to keep you entertained — and maybe hook you into a brand-new book series.

Partials is now in stores, and you can read a free excert here. Here is the official synopsis:

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials–engineered organic beings identical to humans–has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.